Method of manufacturing straw hats



Aug. 4, 1936. o. WIEDEMAN METHOD OF MANUFACTURING STRAW HATS Filed oct. 3, 1954 ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 4, 1936 UNI-TED STATES- PATENT orifice METHOD or MANUFAC'.IURING.V s'raAW HATS Oscar Wiedeman, FallV River, Mass. Application October 3, 1934, .SeriaLNm 746,701

` Claims. (Cl.` 2-19'3) This. invention relates to methods of manufacturing straw hats, and particularly to improvements inthe operations` of blocking andpressingv roughly formed hat blanks, particularly of 51 thel sailor type, to shape them to the desired style. i

Heretofore. it has beencommon to shape, block and press roughly formed strawy hats, which I shall termhat blanks, in a number of opera-v lotions, usually requiring a period of days for completion, the several operations including an extensive softening. treatment, a subsequent stretching .ofthe softened hatblank over a male block and pressing the hat onto the block with l5*` a hot iron, drying the hat blank for a. number' of hours after removing it fromthe block and finally pressing the hat into itsv nal shape in a female heated mold into which the blocked hat is .pressed by the application of pressure against 20.. the .inside of the hat. .It is the primary objectv of..my invention-to eliminate entirely the opera.. tions of blocking the hatby stretching. the blank overa male. wooden. block, with .the accompanying steps of extensivesoftening, ironing, .dry-

ingetc., andto improve on the. pressing operationsin common use heretofore byproviding a method'in. which the. .hat blank is 'completely blocked', pressed and shapedin a single operation of 'relatively few steps.

3o.; I have found that the preliminary blocking operation. caribe. dispensed with .and the hatblank can be oompletelyblocked and shaped in the outer heated mold heretofore .usedzto press the 'hat after blocking', if oversized hat blanks .be used.

35.' 'the moldand if the blanks are properly posi.

tioned and treated in the mold.

I-Iere'tofore the blocking. operation inY which the softened straw hat ,blank is stretchedover a` excess. size enabling the straw braids to fallV 50into .their proper position :almost of their own accord. I therebyreduce the amount of manipul'ation. of the braid required, which .is obviously advantageous, and. I 'have also .found that whatever manipulation `is required can befeffectivelyA 55T performed .tromdtheinside 'ofl the 'hat and, as:

will appear, my method provides for insuring the'y desired point alignment at the crownsquare by `utilizing the lines of stitching, exposed on the inside of the. hat, as. a gauge to determine the position: of thev braid.. It has been foundj that 5. the elimination, by my method, of. the initial blocking operationin'which thehat is stretched into shape` and the substitution: therefor ofa compressing .shaping operation within the female mold, in .which the hat is compressed to desired shape, greatly enhances ithe attractive appearance .of the hat by eliminatingthe stretching of the braid bres, and by condensing them to accentuatey their fibre structure.

Any suitable apparatus can be employed inthe performance` ofimy novel method. A preferred apparatus is described in myco-pending application., Ser. No. 606,946, filed April 22, 1932, now Patenti No. 2,010,285', of which the present application is a continuation in part.

One suitable apparatus is.y illustrated in the accompanying. drawing, in which:

' Fig. 1 :is an .elevationipartly insectiongshowing the .apparatus in working engagement;v 3116.-

2 is. a perspective `viewof the expansible shaping block forming a part of the apparatus.

' The illustrated apparatus, which is` described. in more. detail inmy aforesaid Patent No. 2,016,285, comprises, in general, a lower pressing mechanism' and an upper, rvertically reciprocatingpressing mechanism adaptedto co-operate therewith'.

The base tof the press supports .a casting 2 Y adapted to house the lower pressing mechanism.. The upper mechanism. is supported.` by uprights Sand.v 4, .the upright 3. being. journalled in theA base, as indicated at v5. The .upright 3 may be rotated to swingthe connected' upright 4 into the position shown in Fig. 1,. in` which' said up- 40 right 4 is locked in the apertured vextension 6 of the. base, forlexample, by means of the nut 1 and hand lever 8.

The uprightsand 4 are joined by: the'reciproeating. head: 20, having at its extremities the bearings 2| and 22 adapted slidably to embrace the uprights 3 and' 4. Vertical reciprocation of the head 20 and pressing mechanism carried thereby is effected in anyconvenient manner, for example, by toggles (not shown). A

Theicasting 2,is vhollowed out at 50 to form a steam chestsuit'ablyA connected t0 a supply of steam for heatingv the lower pressing mechanism. The said. `mechanism comprises, in general, an outer mold` shaped tov receive the hat and an inner expansible shaping block adapted to be placed within the hat when the hat is in position in the outer mold, to expand against the interior of the hat to effect the desired pressing operation. This expansibility of the inner block is derived from the construction of the block whereby portions of the same may be forced away from other portions and the outside dimensions of the thus separated block are increased. The outer mold consists of a hollowed block 5|, which is divided into two separable sections, both of which are received by the upper partV of the casting 2 and thereby rmly secured to- The locking band 98 isprovided as an g'ether. additional security against relative displacement of the sections of the block 5|.

In Fig. 1 the numeral 60 indicates a straw hat in place for a pressing operation, at which time the hat is inserted in an inverted position, as indicated, with the tip 6| of the crown lowermost'. The crown ofV a` sailor strawY hat is generally slightly tapered from thepoint of intersection of the brim and crown to a slightly broader section at the crown tip. It is because of this flaring formation of the hat crown that the mold 5| is divided into removable sections,'enabling the operator to remove the hat after pressing.

The expansible shaping block indicated generally in Fig. 2, which is placed within the crown of the hat after the hat is in place in the outer mold 5|, comprises, as shown in ,detail in Fig. 2, a number of blocks 10 which are suitably shaped, as indicated, to'conform to the above noted internal shape of the outermold. The blocks 10 may be of hollow, construction, as indicated in Fig. 1. After theblock sections 10 are placed within the hat, theV central expanding core, indicatedv generally as 1|, is placed in the center of the blocks, as indicated in Fig. 2. The core 1| consists of a number of sections 12, generally triangular in cross-section, which lare yieldingly held together by springs or other suitable means as known in the art. The assembled sections 12 are drilled in the center to' form a tapered aperture 13, into which may be forced the plunger 14. The plunger 14 is integral with the threaded member 9|, and is carried by the head 2|)` by` the screw threaded hollow in the member 92. By rotating the wheel 93,.the member 9| is rotated and thus the plunger 14 may be raised or lowered.

In order that the thrust of the plunger 14 may not forcethe core 1|` downwardly independently of the hollowed blocks 10, the inward face of each block 10 may be provided with a central vertically extending plate |0| having a vertical groove,

91 open at its upper extremity and terminating in a shoulder |03 (Fig. 1). section 12 of the core 1| Vis a lug V915 adapted t0 be received by its corresponding groove 91 uponA insertion of the core. 1| centrally of the blocks 10 and to abut the shoulder |03 to prevent downward displacement of the core 1| independently- This protruding band forms an elongated im-r pression in the upper surface of the hat brim adjacent the juncture ofthe brim4 and crown.

Projecting from each' As shown in Fig. 1, the upper surface 82 of the inner block sections 1E! and the brim surface 83 of the outer mold 5| are substantially in the same plane when a hat is in place for the pressing operation. In order to force the inner shaping block downwardly to exert pressure against the crown tip 6| of the hat, I interpose the centrally perforated spacing member 84. This spacing member 84 is integral with the hollow threaded member 92 carried by the head 20 and the member 84 may bey raised and lowered by rotating the same by means of the wheel 95.

The brim pressing plate 23 is adjustably sup- `the hollow screw threaded member 4B, integral with the brim plate and received by an internally' screw threaded aperture 4| in the head 20. Adjustment of the vertical distance Vbetween the brim plate 23 and head 20 may thus be effected by rotation of the plate 23.

VWhen.the inner expansiblejshaping block (Fig.

2) is constructed ofmetal (for example, aluminum), the heat from the outer mold is readily communicated to Ythis metal and is uniformly conducted throughout the shaping block, so-that heat is simultaneously applied to both the inner. and outer surfaces of the'hat blank. To describe in detail the steps which comprise my novel method, the hat'blank which has been sewed, stiffened ,with gelatinV and thoroughly dried in the usual Vmanner is first softened toV make the straw braids somewhat plastic, andv I have found that the softening treatment comprising the initial step of my method may be much less thorough than that required under the old methodwherein theV hat is softened to the` extent required to stretch it over the rigid wood-Y en block in the blocking operation. Instead of soaking the hat in water and thereafter thor,- oughly steaming it, as has been common heretofore, I merely moisten the hat slightly by stroking it with a wet sponge and thereafter subjecting the hat to a brief steam'treatment'by exposing it to steam foraminute or so.

l After Ithe hat has been softened, the next step in `my method consists in initially shaping the hat by supporting the entire-outer surface of the: tipcrown and brim, `and confining itto;A sub-- stantially the shape desired, simultaneously with the application ofheart. This step is preferably performed by inserting into a female moldV of proper shape, for. example, that shown `in the accompanying drawing, a `hat blank which is oversized. VIf it is desired to produce a hat which, is size '1, for example, a size 7 outer mold is usedv but a larger size. hat blank is Yinserted in theI mold, such, for example, asv a size Z1/4 or even 7% if the hat is of finer braid. g

' The oversized hat blank is inserted gently into,

braid around the sides of the crown and in thel surface of the tip, although some slight manipulation of the braid by theoperative will' sometimes be required to insure that each convolutionv isin the exact position desired.

As is wellknown, it is essential that the row of points along the crown square be positioned in proper alignment withV the redgeA of the crown square,'neither protruding over the edge nor receding away from it. To obtain this proper alignment it has been customary heretofore to manipulate the braid at the crown square from the outside of the hat during' the blocking operation, but as stated above my method provides for .such alignment from the inside of the hat by utilizing the line ofv stitching which secures the row of'braids in the vtip nearest the crown square as 'a guide for determining the position of the points. After the'hat has been inserted in the mold, the 4operative manipulates the row or rows of braid nearest the crown square to position the stitching in a line parallel to the lineV of the crown square and at a distance inwardly on the tip from the crownA square which will position the points as .'desired. The proper spacing between the crown square and the line of stitching depends, of course, upon the distance inwardly from the points at which the braid is sewed, which may Vary with shop practice. Approximately one quarter of an inch is usually the proper amount.

It is also essential that the so-called run-off, or line at which the row of braid in the tip adjacent the crown square crosses over the crown square to form the rst row of the side of the crown, be disposed in the proper position at the back or side of the hat. This position can also be gauged by the stitching on the inside of the `hat and it is essential that the operative guide the position of the run-off while inserting the hat in the mold.

The brim of the hat must be pressed and molded to the desired shape and my method provides that while the crown and tip are being molded in the female mold, the upper and lower surfaces of the brim are pressed to form a brim of proper thickness and the edge of the brim is molded to produce the desired smooth curvature. My method also provides that simultaneously with this brim pressing and molding operation the brim is impressed to form an elongated narrow groove around the edge of the brim adjacent the juncture of the brim andthe crown, which is commonly provided to enhance the dressy appearance of the hat.

As disclosed in my prior co-pending application above-noted, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, the female mold into which the hat has now been inserted is provided with a flat pressing surface adapted to support and press one surface of the brim during the molding of the crown and tip and this pressing surface is proyided with a molding plate adapted to abut the edge of the brim during the pressing of the surfaces thereof and, by resisting extrusion of the edge resulting from the pressure applied to the brim surfaces, to form a brim of proper width and of smooth edge curvature. The mold is also provided with a rib or projection disposed at the juncture of the brim and crown to form the `above-noted groove.

After the hat has been inserted in the mold as described above, the brim is manipulated, if necessary, to insure that the edge of the brim is positioned within the edge molding plate and .properly abuts the same.

AfterV the hat has been positioned in the outer mold in the manner above described, the next step in my method comprises applying heat and pressure against the inside surfaces of the tip and crown, including the line of the crown square, and also to the surface of the brim opposite to that supported by the outer mold. Suitable apparatus for this purpose is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. Prior to the insertion of the male mold into the hat, the mold may be heated in any desired manner to raise its temperature to Yapproximately the temperature of the outer mold. The male mold, as illustrated., is provided with a top surface which abuts the in-'l side surface of the tip ofthe hat, and side surfaces which abut the inside of the crown.vr A brim plate 23 abuts the surface of the brim op posite to that supported by the outer mold. After the heatedV male mold has been insertedin the hat and properly positioned it is expanded laterally and forced downwardly to apply the defsired degree of pressure against the' tip, crown and brim.

An important feature of my invention which should be noted in connection with the step of applying pressure to the inside surface of thel hat is that the pressure-applying medium should preferably comprise a rigid body, rather than a yielding medium, such as the hydraulic pressureapplying mediums sometimes employed in the prior art, and furthermore Vthat the degree of pressure applied be gauged by the compressed thickness of the straw braids rather than by the pounds per square inch of pressure applied. It will be apparent that as the inner and outer surfaces of the straw braid are conned between two rigid bodies, the braid can be molded and shaped properly by moving the rigid bodies together until a predetermined spacing equal to the desired thickness of the material has been reached, without crushing the braid.

It will be obvious that various details of my invention, the preferred form of which has now been described, may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention which is to be limited only as indicated in the following claims.

I claim: Y

l. In the manufacture of straw hats, the method which comprises softening the hat blank by the application of moisture, initially confining the hat blank so moistened to substantially the external shape desired by supporting the outer surfaces of the tip and crown of the softened blank in a mold of a smaller size than that of the hat blank and thereafter applying pressure to the inner surface of the hat blank to mold the same to the desired shape.

2. In the manufacture of straw hats, the method which comprises softening the hatV blank by the application of moisture, initially confining the hat blank So moistened to substantially the external shape desired by supporting the outer surfaces of the tip and crown of the softened blank in a mold Vof a smaller size than that of the hat blank, subsequently applying pressure to the inner surface of the hat blank v by pressing against the inner surface with a 'rigid pressure-applying member and simultaneously applying heat to both the inner and outer surfaces of the hat blank to mold the same to the desired shape.

3. In the manufacture of straw hats, the method which comprises softening the hat blank by the application of moisture, initially confining the hat blank so moistened torsubstantially the external shape desired by supporting the outer surfaces of the tip and crown of the softened blank in a mold of a smaller -size than that of the hatblank, subsequently applying pressure to the inner surface of the hat blank, applying heat to both the inner Vand outer surfaces of the hat blank, and applying pressure to both surfaces of the brim and simultaneously molding the; edge thereof by resisting Vextrusion of 'the edge resulting from the pressure so applied.

4. In the manufacture of straw hats, the method which comprises softening the hat blank by. the application of moisture, initially confining the hat blank' so moistened to substantially the external shape desired by supporting the outer surfaces of the tip and crown of the softened blank in a mold of the shape desired, subsequently applying pressure to the inner surface of the hat blank, applying pressure to both surfaces of the brim and simultaneously molding the edge thereof by resisting extrusion' of the edge resulting from the pressure so applied, and forming an elongated impression in the upper brimiand crown.Y

' 5. In the lmanufacture of straw hats, the method which comprises softening the hat blank bythe application of moisture, initially conning the hat blank so moistened to substantially the external shape desired by supporting the outer surfaces of the tip and crown of the softened blank in a mold of ldesired shape, positioning the braidrconvolutions by manipulating the same from the inside of the hat while gauging the desired position by the stitching exposed on the inside of the hat, and thereafter applying pressure to the Yinner surface of the hat blank to mold the same to the desired shape.

OSCAR WEDEMAN. 15 

